Tesla's 'try it for a week' return policy is officially no more
Prospective Tesla buyers, beware: The company's return policy appears to have changed. And by changed, I mean "done away with completely."
It used to be that new Tesla owners had a seven-day "no questions asked" return period, starting with when they took possession of their new vehicle. That no longer seems to be the case, however, with Electrek confirming via "sources familiar with the matter" that the policy was discontinued on Thursday. Oct. 15.
The dedicated URL that once existed for the return policy – https://www.tesla.com/support/tesla-return-policy?redirect=no – now automatically redirects to a Tesla support page that makes no mention of return options. And there's no way for press types like me to check with Tesla corporate directly because the company reportedly no longer has a public relations team.
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(Mashable did reach out to a general Tesla press email that still seems to be working. We haven't heard back yet, but I'll update this post if/when we do.)
Tesla does, however, have dealerships. So I tried calling one and the salesperson who answered readily confirmed that yes, the seven-day return policy is no more. They told me the policy used to make sense because Tesla didn't have a major presence in many states, and so showrooms and test drives weren't widely available.
That's no longer the case, however. With more than 100 Tesla showrooms in the U.S. alone, it's much easier for a prospective buyer to check out one of the cars before they buy it.
The only piece that doesn't add up in that explanation ties to a recent change Tesla made to its return policy. Before the change, the policy held that a return within seven days was allowed with no questions asked, provided "you have taken delivery of your vehicle without ever having taken a test or demo drive with us." But the change, which happened in March 2019, did away with the test drive requirement.
If the return policy was done away with because showrooms and test drives are an option now for most would-be buyers, why would a 2019 tweak to the return policy allow for returns even after a test drive happens? This is the kind of question a PR rep would normally help us answer.
Whatever the reasoning may be, the result is the same: You no longer have a seven-day grace period to return a newly purchased Tesla. (To be fair, Tesla's original policy was generous compared to the rest of the auto industry, where no-questions-asked returns aren't the standard.) So you may want to hunt down a showroom and/or a test drive before you plunk down all that cash.
Topics Tesla
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
